IPL 2021: Last-over defeat against Rajasthan Royals bitter pill to swallow, says Punjab Kings coach Anil Kumble
Punjab Kings head coach Anil Kumble was absolutely gutted after the heartbreaking last over defeat at the hands of Rajasthan Royals. Kumble said that it has become a pattern that needs to be sorted out.
In Short
- Defeat against RR bitter pill to swallow, says PBKS coach Kumble
- PBKS lost to RR by 2 runs, their 6th loss in IPL 2021
- Punjab Kings failed to score 4 runs in the final over against Rajasthan Royals
Punjab Kings head coach Anil Kumble opened up on the last-over defeat against Rajasthan Royals, saying that it was a difficult pill to swallow for him and his side. Kumble also reckoned such narrow losses have become a pattern for the franchise.
Karthik Tyagi bowled a sensational last over as Rajasthan Royals pulled off an incredible two-run win over Punjab Kings in an Indian Premier League (IPL) thriller in Dubai on Tuesday. Punjab required four runs off the last six balls but Tyagi dismissed Nicholas Pooran (32) and Deepak Hooda (0) and gave away only one run to snatch the win for his team from the jaws of defeat.
"It is sort of becoming a pattern for us, especially as soon as we get to Dubai it seems. There was a clear message that we need to finish this game in 19 overs and that was the approach, unfortunately, we let it till the end, in the last couple of balls, it becomes a lottery. The new batter going in is a bit of a lottery. Credit to the way Tyagi bowled the last over," Kumble said during a virtual press conference.
IPL 2021, PBKS vs RR: Report | Highlights
"It was obvious he is going to bowl wide outside the off-stump, some of our batters did not take the right option, yes, it has become a pattern and that has something we need to discuss. We have five more games but we do not want to get bogged down by this defeat. It is certainly a difficult pill to swallow," he added.
"It was a very good wicket, we came back really well in the last four overs. If I am right, we picked up six wickets and gave away just 20 runs. Arshdeep bowled really brilliantly. Shami bowled brilliantly. One side of the boundaries was short and the other was longer. At one stage, Rajasthan Royals was set to get 200," said Kumble.
"You have to take positives out of this, the way we played, Rajasthan looked set to get 200 but we pulled it back in those final overs. The bowling of Arshdeep, Shami and Harpreet Brar was good. There are enough positives from bowling and batting. The opening partnership has always done well for us," he added.
Punjab Kings will next lock horns against SunRisers Hyderabad on Saturday at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.